The Census asks questions about language use at home to locate groups of people who speak a language other than English. Their isolation or integration into a primarily English speaking community can be determined by their ability to speak English proficiently.
| Language Spoken at Home, 1990-2000 | ||||
| 1990 | 2000 | |||
| Number | Percent | Number | Percent | |
| Only English | 156,159 | 93.49% | 184,297 | 85.05% |
| Spanish | 4,044 | 2.42% | 16,795 | 7.75% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,673 | 1.60% | 4,995 | 2.31% |
| Asian Language** | 3,395 | 2.03% | 8,421 | 3.89% |
| Other | 765 | 0.46% | 2,182 | 1.01% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 167,036 | 100.00% | 216,690 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 10,101 | 60.14% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,431 | 28.65% |
| Asian Language** | 5,756 | 68.35% |
| Other Language | 300 | 13.75% |
| Total | 17,588 | 8.12% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,391 | 34.40% |
| Other Indo-European* | 621 | 23.23% |
| Asian Language** | 1,978 | 58.26% |
| Other Language | 135 | 17.65% |
| Total | 4,125 | 2.47% |
* "Other Indo-European" excludes English and Spanish. "Indo-European" is not synonymous with "European." French, German, Hindi, and Persian are all classified as Indo-European. Hungarian, on the other hand, is lumped into "Other Language."
** "Asian Language" includes languages indigenous to Asia and Pacific islands areas that are not also Indo-European languages. Chinese, Japanese, Telugu, and Hawaiian are all classified here.
Also note that ability to speak English "very well" is based on the self-assessment of those responding to Census questions, not on a test of language ability.
Source: Census 2000 analyzed by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN).
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